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“So richly detailed, you can almost smell the gunsmoke and the sweat of the saddles. ” —Hampton Sides, New York Times bestsellingauthor of Ghost Soldiers

No outlaw typifies America’s mythic Wild West more than Billy the Kid. To Hell on a Fast Horse by Mark Lee Gardner is the riveting true tale of Sheriff Pat Garrett’s thrilling, break-neck chase in pursuit of the notorious bandit. David Dary calls To Hell on a Fast Horse, “A masterpiece,” and Robert M. Utley calls it, “Superb narrative history.”This is spellbinding historical adventure at its very best, recalling James Swanson’s New York Times bestseller Manhunt—about the search for Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth—as it fills in with fascinating detail the story director Sam Peckinpah brought to the screen in his classic film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

The saga of Billy the Kid and his nemesis, Pat Garrett, has been the subject of numerous fanciful books and several very bad movies. So it is both useful and interesting to read this well-researched and, one hopes, relatively accurate account of the Lincoln County War and the two most famous participants in it. The center of the account is Garrett’s pursuit and execution of the Kid after he escaped from the Lincoln County courthouse jail. Fortunately, Gardner precedes that account with an engrossing examination of the lives of both men and the political and economic milieu of nineteenth-century New Mexico. He effectively uses primary sources, although those sources are often contradictory and reflect the views of competing Lincoln County factions. The portrait of the Kid, surprisingly, conforms to his popular image as a ruthless killer who could also be charming. Garrett is seen as ambitious, laconic, and coldly efficient. This is a fine effort to de-mystify a legendary episode in the history of the American West. --Jay Freeman
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Top customer reviews

There are plenty of reviews of this book and I will not rehash the story yet again. I will say that this book was well researched and gave an excellent view of these two men whose lives and legacies are forever intertwined. This is not the romanticized (and highly fictional) re-telling of the Kid's, or Garrett's legends, rather a factual account assembled from well documented first hand accounts and historical documents.

My lone complaint echoes those that request maps and/or illustration of the geographic area, Fort Sumner, Pete Maxwell's place, etc. Those of us who are only casually acquainted with that area of New Mexico could make good use of them. And while it's not pertinent to the main focus of the book, a little clarification as to the final fate of Jesse Wayne Brazel (whether the reports of the private investigator were corroborated) would be greatly appreciated.

This book is a fascinating read for Old West Buffs, History Buffs, or anyone with an interesting in how our country expanded west. I greatly enjoyed it and will be reading more of Gardner's work as time and budget permit.

To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid Pat, Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West by Mark Lee Gardner

The name of Billy the Kid is known far and wide as the young desperado of the Lincoln County War in New Mexico. Tales of his daring and speed with a gun have been spun in books, movies, and television shows. He has became a larger than life antihero, a bad guy that people still cheer for, and that Pat Garrett is still accused of murdering.

Behind all the hoopla, who was Billy the Kid? For one thing, he was a product of the Old West, but he was not born there. He was born Henry McCarty in New York City. His father’s name is in dispute, some saying he was Patrick McCarty. His younger brother was Joseph McCarty.

His mother later married a man named William Henry Harrison Antrim. At times, Billy the Kid was known as Kid Antrim, Billy Bonney, and just The Kid. He was a thief. He was taken in, starving, by John Tunstall, a British native who owned a store and ranch in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory.

Tunstall was murdered during the Lincoln County War by men loyal to Lawrence Murphy, James Dolan, and John Riley. The Murphy/Dolan clan was on the opposite side of the Lincoln County War.

The Kid, along with other men loyal to Tunstall, was deputized to bring in the men who killed Tunstall. These “Regulators” lead by Dick Brewer ended up in a gunfight that cost Brewer his life. Later, defending John Tunstall’s friend Alexander McSween, the regulators killed Robert W. Beckwith and others when McSween was ambushed, burned out of his house, and slain.

Murder charges were brought against Billy the Kid. Governor Lew Wallace, who would later writer Ben-Hur, offered the Kid a pardon in return for testimony against others. He then reneged on the deal. Bonney escaped from the Lincoln County Jail on June 17, 1879 and rode off into history.

Eventually Pat Garrett was charged with bringing the kid in. After a shoot out at Stinking Springs, Garrett did just that. Billy was tried, convicted, and sentenced to hang. He escaped again killing two lawmen in the process. Garrett tracked him down again, and that gunshot has rang through history.

This is a comprehensive story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. The story is told by incorporating direct quotes from witnesses, newspapers, Garrett’s book on the case, and many other historical documents. Everything one needs to know is here. The legend of Billy the Kid, the Legend of Pat Garrett, the rumors that arose then and continue today concerning how Garrett shot the Kid, did the Kid really die, and so forth.

It is probably the best record of the events I have read. It includes the story of Brushy Bill Roberts who claimed to be Billy the Kid and the efforts that continue to try to prove once and for all that the kid is in the grave at Fort Sumter, New Mexico. A single photo is all that remains from the Kid’s New Mexico days.

Very informative, educational, and insightful. LOVED the intro; a history book that paints the landscape. I only wish it continued to paint the landscapes throughout... that would've been even better. But this is by far the most well rounded piece on the Lincoln County War and Billy the Kid that I've read. The author has sorted through all the bogus folk-lore and have given you the facts, yet not failing to bring attention to the falsities. I think the facts about Patt Garrett have intrigued me almost as much as The Kid. Not enough credit is given to the 30-year-old buffalo hunter who had absolutely no lawman experience to begin with... his judgement was keen and seemed like a guy who never turned down a challenge.

It's a great read - the real fascination of the Lincoln County War has always been with the people, and each person's story and background is truly fascinating - not a single one was any less of player than the Kid.

There is a quote by the author which I paraphrase for this writing, which reads something like "the Kid was bad with a little good and Pat Garrett was good with a little bad". This is the second book I have read by Mark Lee Gardner and I do hope he has another one soon. I am so impressed with his ability to make history interesting and even though one knows how the story basically comes out; his detail and research makes the reader feel like he/she is reading it for the very first time. Pat Garrett reminds me somewhat of what happens today when someone becomes a celebrity overnight and it doesn't take long before they become so involved with who they are suppose to be; their life just turns to shambles. Mr. Gardner does not guess about history, however even if he does he may lay out two or three possible scenarios and then follows by "who knows". I like this style a great deal as it allows the reader to also form their own conclusions. I sure recommend this book as very entertaining and incredibly researched. This as well as his other book were difficult for me to put down.

This is simply the best book I've read on the life of the Kid. All of the famous shootouts in which Billy took part are dealt with, one by one and in detail, as are the key events in his short life. I've read a ton of books on the Kid and judge Gardner's book to be the most accurate and truthful account that we're likely to get until and unless some long, lost documents, that add to or dispel the information presented here,.surface. Mr. Gardner presents a well-researched and well-written account of the outlaw, intertwining it with the life of Pat Garrett, the lawman who ended Billy's criminal career.